Scan barcode
prosenheim's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Abandonment, and Deportation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
allindjesste's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read this book for a book club that I was in, and I found it to be a fascinating read. Not my favorite by any means, but I find the concept of turning something as aspirational as dimension traveling into grunt work for the poor that (mild spoilers) the rich are actively trying to replace to be deeply interesting. It's one of the things that I love about Afrofuturism. It's important to take these concepts that we are aspiring to and consider who it is being built off of and what the consequences of that are for society at large. This book does a great job of exploring that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Abandonment
thenextbookdilemma's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where do I even start with this book?
First it stretches your mind, as I think is always the case when parallel universes are explored. This idea challenges our very existences and always throws me for a loop
I, like many of you (probably…maybe?) have considered on multiple occasions the question of, how might my life have been different if X had gone differently, or if I hadn’t met Y, or if Z had happened ? Well, Cara knows the answer to that question in 372 different worlds.
A very brief summary: This book is about multiverse travel. A woman has died on 372 different parallel universes and thus is able to visit them and gather data for her home earth. But soon she discovers that she is involved in something far more nefarious than expected.
I LOVED this book. The characters and all their iterations were so interesting and human. The worlds were well-developed and captivating. There were multiple plot twists and a romance subplot that I adored. The writing was beautiful and impressive especially for a debut!
But this book also makes you think about who you are, and who you could have been.
Would I be the same person if my circumstances had been different? Johnson says no, and I agree. We are not our circumstances, but we are not unaffected by them. Who might you become if your means of survival are not provided to you? How can we judge somebody who has to fight to survive, who lacks the same amount of security as we do? Who doesn’t know where their next meal or a roof over their head is coming from? It’s a reminder that the family you are born into, the class, the race, the place, is all just luck. And that very truth can be humbling or infuriating or devastating. I loved the way Johnson wove these questions of equity and classism into a gorgeous multiverse novel and I will long think about all the Emmas I could have been or perhaps, all the different Emmas I am parallel to this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, and Lesbophobia
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This wasn't quite what I expected. I was expecting it to be set on contemporary earth or maybe the near future. That was probably my fault for making an assumption and this misalignment of expectations may have influenced how I felt about the book.
The idea that travel is limited to a few hundred worlds because otherwise they're too dissimilar to the traveler's world (and that they can start closely aligned enough for travel but become misaligned enough to make it impossible) is interesting. And it doesn't seem tied to the particular traveler, the present circumstances of the Earth as a whole has to be pretty similar. Consequently, most people's circumstances are pretty similar from world to world. It's certainly different from most alternate reality books where someone tries on various lives completely different from their own (only to realize the life they'd been living was the best one all along). It does mean that big historical moments and conditions have to be somewhat similar. For example, just as a world with nuclear war would take itself out of alignment, so would one with much greater equality, where some of the biggest problems have been solved.
There's also some romance to it, the notion that the same people come together across multiple worlds. Of course, those relationships aren't always healthy sometimes they're quite toxic.
But mostly, of course, it's about exploiting other worlds. Obtaining resources the prime world can't (or won't) extract on its own. And letting things play out on other worlds so they can decide what to do (or not) on their own. It's not quite clear how the data the travelers retrieve is gathered, but I suppose that's a minor detail.
There's also some romance to it, the notion that the same people come together across multiple worlds. Of course, those relationships aren't always healthy sometimes they're quite toxic.
But mostly, of course, it's about exploiting other worlds. Obtaining resources the prime world can't (or won't) extract on its own. And letting things play out on other worlds so they can decide what to do (or not) on their own. It's not quite clear how the data the travelers retrieve is gathered, but I suppose that's a minor detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Murder
anarmandameg's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
roxanned's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a good time reading this book.
The concept of the different worlds and that some realities are closer to Earth Zero's reality and some are very different from it is a concept I like a lot. To learn about different realities and what could have been is very interesting in my opinion. The world building in this book is not as pronounced as I would have hoped though. So there are some things I don't fully understand or wish I had more info on(e.g. what exactly are runners? how does a world go dark? do new worlds come up? The whole downloading data from other worlds to use it) . Nevertheless the story is interesting and I enjoyed it.
Another thing I like is that in every world some characteristics are more ingrained than others. And when taking the alternate selves of a character into account, every character is not entirely good or bad.
This is mainly a sci-fi with a dash of sapphic romance.
The concept of the different worlds and that some realities are closer to Earth Zero's reality and some are very different from it is a concept I like a lot. To learn about different realities and what could have been is very interesting in my opinion. The world building in this book is not as pronounced as I would have hoped though. So there are some things I don't fully understand or wish I had more info on
Another thing I like is that in every world some characteristics are more ingrained than others. And when taking the alternate selves of a character into account, every character is not entirely good or bad.
This is mainly a sci-fi with a dash of sapphic romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Blood, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
looseleafellie's review
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Cara works at a company that sends people to alternate universes to collect data. You can only travel to universes where you’re dead, so Cara is the ideal candidate for multiverse travel. But when one of her few living alternate selves dies mysteriously, Cara begins to unravel a conspiracy that threatens the multiverse.
My favorite book is This Is How You Lose the Time War, and I picked up The Space Between Worlds because it seemed similar. It’s a short-ish sci-fi book with alternate universes, sapphic yearning, and evil organizations to thwart.
However, The Space Between Worlds is more character-focused and contained. I loved how none of the characters — including Cara — are all good or all bad, especially when their alternate selves come into play. The book explores how your background and relative privilege can shape your personality and motivations, even if you’re technically the same person, which was very interesting. The romantic tension between Cara and Dell weaves throughout, but as a side plot to the main story.
Even in 330-ish pages, the world drew me in. The setting is grounded in the neighboring cities of Ashtown and Wiley City: one an impoverished community of survivors, the other a high-tech utopia (for those who have citizenship). While I expected a wider scale, the focused setting strengthened the book by allowing for exploration of the themes in a confined space.
One drawback of the short length is I found the ending a bit rushed. When I had 30 pages left, I thought, “they have to end all this in 30 pages?” I still enjoyed the ending, but would have liked extra time to sit in the emotions and feel things out more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I think it’s great for fans of This Is How You Lose the Time War — or people who like character-focused stories about alternate universes in general.
CWs: Gore, violence, death, domestic abuse, classism, and mentions of drug addiction, homophobia, child neglect, and suicide.
My favorite book is This Is How You Lose the Time War, and I picked up The Space Between Worlds because it seemed similar. It’s a short-ish sci-fi book with alternate universes, sapphic yearning, and evil organizations to thwart.
However, The Space Between Worlds is more character-focused and contained. I loved how none of the characters — including Cara — are all good or all bad, especially when their alternate selves come into play. The book explores how your background and relative privilege can shape your personality and motivations, even if you’re technically the same person, which was very interesting. The romantic tension between Cara and Dell weaves throughout, but as a side plot to the main story.
Even in 330-ish pages, the world drew me in. The setting is grounded in the neighboring cities of Ashtown and Wiley City: one an impoverished community of survivors, the other a high-tech utopia (for those who have citizenship). While I expected a wider scale, the focused setting strengthened the book by allowing for exploration of the themes in a confined space.
One drawback of the short length is I found the ending a bit rushed. When I had 30 pages left, I thought, “they have to end all this in 30 pages?” I still enjoyed the ending, but would have liked extra time to sit in the emotions and feel things out more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I think it’s great for fans of This Is How You Lose the Time War — or people who like character-focused stories about alternate universes in general.
CWs: Gore, violence, death, domestic abuse, classism, and mentions of drug addiction, homophobia, child neglect, and suicide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Suicide
raptorq's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Cultural appropriation
katequiet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Why didn't I read this sooner???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Classism
oddityoverseer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The pacing was a bit odd to me though. It felt like the big climax was halfway through the book, then the smaller climax came later, which is the opposite of most stories.
But the story was interesting for sure. I really liked the world-building, with the technology, and the politics and personal relationships. I could've done with a few less characters (it was hard to keep track of everyone).
I also liked the social commentary throughout, and the explorations of "upper class" Wiley City and "lower class" Ashtown.
But the story was interesting for sure. I really liked the world-building, with the technology, and the politics and personal relationships. I could've done with a few less characters (it was hard to keep track of everyone).
I also liked the social commentary throughout, and the explorations of "upper class" Wiley City and "lower class" Ashtown.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Classism